Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Dies at Ninety-Two
Nicola Pietrangeli remains one of only three Italian men to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a true icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, has died at the age of 92.
Pietrangeli etched his name by becoming the pioneering Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his first triumph at the French Open in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy a year later.
With a staggering 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country's finest player prior to the advent of current world number two and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the sole Italian honored in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," announced the Italian Tennis Federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He set a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and led his country to its inaugural title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a two-time winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a true legend of Italian tennis..."
